by Jake Sessanna | May 2, 2017 | Rochester
In a brash two-and-a-half minutes, Rochester’s Pleistocene conveys a message like a swarm of bees: Missing an old friend is hard even if you’re confident she’ll be okay. “Your New Life” is the lead single from the band’s killer...
by Jake Sessanna | Feb 22, 2017 | Buffalo
Local surf rockers, Bryan Johnson and Family, returned earlierr this month with a new reverbed-out single “Next Wave.” On the Fam’s new single, the guitar is a wonderful blend of janglyness and smoothness. The bass thuds along joyfully while the...
by Jake Sessanna | Feb 3, 2017 | New Music
The wonderful, “jizz jazzy” Mac DeMarco just announced the release of a new album called This Old Dog. Along with the release came a few teasers including the title track. Noticeably different is the acoustic guitar found in this song. It’s still...
by Jake Sessanna | Feb 1, 2017 | Album Review
Lampchop is a unique band with a path like none other. They’ve taken on genre after genre throughout their journey – first traditional country, then post-rock, soul, lounge and so on. FLOTUS (For Love Often Turns Us Still) is their latest effort, and the...
by Jake Sessanna | Jan 19, 2017 | Preview
One of Canada’s prized indie outfits is soon to be at our doorsteps this evening when Tokyo Police Club play the Waiting Room. Whether you love the odd drums and fuzzy bass of “Nature of the Experiment” or the general warm tenacity of Melon Collie...
by Jake Sessanna | Dec 16, 2016 | Preview
Milkie’s is set to feature three Buffalo-based musicians performing stripped down acoustic sets. Set to play tonight is Tyler Mendola, from the retro, psychedelic Deadwolf-pack. His music is sure to swoon, and his performance should shine new light upon what is...
by Michael Moretti | Dec 15, 2016 | Best of 2016
To begin our Best of 2016 coverage, we asked a handful of our staff writers to submit their favorite albums and songs of the year. Cliff Parks Favorite Album: The Avalanches – Wildflower The joy and pleasure this album gave me this year is incalculable. The...
by Jake Sessanna | Dec 1, 2016 | Album Review
Cannon the Brave is an indie pop outfit from Albany, NY who take their name from Allyson Smith’s superhero alter ego. The group originated as a songwriting outlet between twin sisters Allyson and Whitney Smith, eventually adding three members to support the...
by Jake Sessanna | Nov 23, 2016 | Album Review
Dave Monks, better known as the long-haired frontman of Canada’s own Tokyo Police Club, split from the others to record six really solid acoustic songs under the title All Signs Point to Yes. Each track is as touching as the next: Whether the tunes are about the...
by Jake Sessanna | Nov 16, 2016 | Preview
Scumbag Booking presents Yellow House (members consist of those from Skateboard, Love Canal, and Tomoreaux) at Dreamland this evening. Yellow House fronts shoegaze rock that will keep you bouncing off each others’ shoulders. The group is releasing their first...
by Jake Sessanna | Nov 2, 2016 | Album Review
Warpaint is a sly quartet of women whose coolness seems unparalleled at times. Their style runs it’s course on you – it’s all-consuming, relaxed, sexy, slithery… Heads Up marks the band’s fourth release, with “New Song” as...
by Jake Sessanna | Oct 25, 2016 | Album of the Week
Like something out of retro Gotham comes Ghost in the City, a melancholic gaze into the haunted homes of the album. For the most part, this gaze sets its eyes on love despite the album’s eerie, mysterious lyrical settings buttressed by the deep instrumentals....
by Jake Sessanna | Oct 3, 2016 | Album of the Week
Hundred Plus Club is an impressive group that shred something similar to Tokyo Police Club and Dinosaur Bones. For You, their newest six-song effort, is a glorious scientific approach to solid indie rock that will make you want to see them live. The first track,...
by Jake Sessanna | Sep 28, 2016 | Rochester
Oh Manitou, a Rochester-based indie act still in their infancy, released duel singles”People I’d Like To Be” and “Once Again” last week. The songs, notably “People I’d Like To Be” showcase immense talent as Oh Manitou...
by Jake Sessanna | Sep 19, 2016 | Album of the Week
Like a comet across Lake Erie’s vast sky shines Settlement, a new Buffalo-based band composed guitarist/vocalist Dan Moscov, bassist/vocalist Mike Dagonese, and drummer Adam Lilley. The band sounds like Balance and Composure at times fronting lonely, saddening...
